Several such devices exist in the prior art, but none with the simplicity and precision of the present invention. U.S. Pat. No. 4,483,626 to NOBLE shows a device for reminding a patient that the correct intervals of time have elapsed for taking another dosage of a particular type of medicine and sounds an alarm which can be worn on the patient's wrist like a watch and activated by a radio signal transmission. However, if the patient fails to take the medicine the device will simply reset the time interval and sound another alarm when the next dosage is due.
There are no provisions for insuring that the patient has actually taken his medicine or for correcting for those times when the patient takes his medicine an hour or so too early or too late.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,526,474 to Simon shows a device for storing and periodically announcing the time for removal of drug dosages in pill, tablet, or capsule form. The device contains a number of plastic blisters each containing a single pill. When the time to take a pill has come, an electrical impulse ruptures the blister and sounds an alarm informing the patient that it is time to take a pill. As in the case of U.S. Pat. No. 4,483,626 discussed above, there are no provisions to allow the patient to record that he has taken the medicine. The device simply resets the timer and ruptures another blister when it is time to take the next pill. If the patient must take more than one type pill at another time interval then another board of blisters is required as well as another timer and the associated control circuits.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,382,688 shows a pill dispenser with a timer that sounds an alarm when it is time for the patient to take a pill. When the patient opens the pill container, the alarm ceases and the timer resets. However, only one type pill per box and per timer is accommodated. A separate box, timer, and alarm is required for each different type pill.
It should be noted that in most states pills must be kept by the patient in the same dispenser he obtained from his pharmacist. This is required by law. Obviously, this is not true in the case of the prior art patents discussed above.
Other prior art patents which show one or two features of the present invention but none of which are regarded as being sufficiently relevant to warrant individual discussion are U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,419,016, 4,448,541, and 4,361,408 issued respectively to Zoltan, Wirtschafter, and Wirtschafter.
It would mark a definite improvement in the art to provide a single container medication organizer which would not only indicate to the patient when each medication was due to be taken, but would also provide for a response from the patient that the pill had been taken, and further indicate the time when the next dosage of each different type of pill was due to be taken, and further would allow and correct for instances when the patient took his medication much too early or much too late, or had simply carried the pills in his pocket for a half day or so and had never responded to the alarm activated by the invention.